


Finding Love

by 234am



Series: Channel Surfing [2]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Chronic Pain, Fluff, M/M, Useless Gays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 01:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14485584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/234am/pseuds/234am
Summary: Reeve has a bad day and Rufus demonstrates his stunning lack of nurturing nature.





	Finding Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lavacherries](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavacherries/gifts).



> A drabble prompt that got long enough to merit being posted separately.

The old ache burned across his skin and sank into his bones, gnawing and persistent. A kind of grey fog settled over his thoughts, making it difficult to connect them. Everything felt distant but the pain yanking at every nerve ending.

Reeve hunched at his desk, pinching at the bridge of his nose hard enough to hurt, and dug his other hand into the meat of his thigh even though he knew it wouldn't make any difference. The scratch of his slacks against his skin only aggravated the sensation further, setting off sparks. Were he home, he'd shed them and then somehow be caught by surprised that _this_ much pain never visibly showed. Nothing ever worked for it, either.

He wasn't going to get any more work done that day. Groaning softly under his breath, Reeve waited for the wave to ease off, even a little bit. The flare would last for at least the rest of the day, if not much longer. The worst he'd ever endured lasted an entire week and a half, reducing him to staring blankly at his ceiling, unable to even give one-word responses to emails and concerned text messages from friends.

A clatter at his door made him sit up, trying and likely failing to put his best smile on. Cait swung on the door knob, then bounded into the room. Reeve slouched immediately, not altogether surprised that he hadn't sensed the cat coming. The flares interfered with his mental link with the mechanical cat. A lucky thing that it possessed free will, then, and wouldn't need him.

"We oughta rest," Cait chirruped. It came bouncing over and pulled up short of jumping into his lap. "It's lonely, not hearin' you alla the time."

"...Yes." Reeve sighed. "Yes, it is."

Wearily, he climbed to his feet. It took him a minute to remember what he needed to do before going home, and several more to gather up his phone, his laptop, the contents of his inbox, piling it all into his briefcase. Reeve took a half step away from the desk, gingerly.

"Don't forget yer keys!"

"Oh."

Reeve turned back, rifling through his drawers until he found the things tossed carelessly in the back of the top tray. He clutched the mog head keychain, feeling the round nose against the curve of his palm. The keys swung to and fro with each step as he limped across the office to the door. Cait followed in his shadow, watchful and not making any of its usual chatter.

Taking a deep, bracing breath, Reeve straightened up, squaring his shoulders. He opened the door and stepped out into the hall. The minute Cait waddled out, he shut and locked the door, then set off down the hall at a brisk pace, nodding politely at his guards as he passed. If they noticed anything off about their Commissioner, they said nothing.

A sleek black car awaited him outside. Rude stood with hands folded in front by the back passenger door, his expression as inscrutable as ever. On the other side of the car, Reno stood with his arms folded atop the roof, chin pillowed against them.

"Gentlemen," Reeve said, slowly.

"Sir." Rude inclined his head towards the back, resting one hand against the door handle.

In the background, Reno gave a two fingered salute, grinning. "Boss man's pissed that ya forgot 'bout your lunch meeting."

"Oh." A cold wash of panic washed down the back of Reeve's neck, his throat closing up. "Oh no."

Cait Sith tugged at his pants and he numbly walked forward to get into the car at the cat's urging. His thoughts whirled, but he could not remember having an appointment with Rufus, could not remember what it could possibly be about.

The man was no longer his employer, but still the old dread of disappointing him reared up. A half a lifetime spent clawing his way to the top, desperately trying to make things _work_ as his superiors lurched from one excessive waste of money to the next, always threatening to yank the rug out from under him whenever he got too carried away being a noble thorn in their sides.

Rufus had never threatened Reeve like that. He'd looked at the figures while the whole damn world collapsed around him, nodded, and told him to do whatever it took.

And later, he'd sent his last remaining Turks over with all that remained of the ShinRa fortune and told Reeve to put the world back together. Whatever it took.

Reeve barely registered Cait Sith buckling him in, or Rude shutting the door, or the two Turks getting into the front seat. He blinked at the rumble of the car starting up.

"Where are we going?"

"Late lunch, prolly," Reno said. He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel as he pulled out, humming along to the catchy song on the radio, turned way down. "Not our business. Just takin' ya there, yo."

Sighing, Reeve slouched down and looked out the window. He clutched at his briefcase, gritting his teeth at every little vibration and movement. Beside him, Cait bobbed along with the song, softly crooning.

They traveled familiar roads, going down main street, past the broken monument. Reno turned left just before the commercial district where most of the restaurants could be found. Almost lazily, he navigated through residential streets, taking random turns and doubling back occasionally. The Commissioner of the WRO did not have many known enemies because he had a relatively high approval rating, but Turk training required a degree of caution that Reeve normally appreciated. Right then, he just wished Reno would hurry up.

After what felt like an eternity, the car pulled to a stop in front of Reeve's building. The moment the car came to a complete stop, Rude got out to make a sweep of the area. Blinking, Reeve glanced over to meet Reno's amused look in the rearview mirror.

"...Here?"

"S'what I was told, man." Reno shrugged. "Yanno how the boss man is."

"I suppose I do."

Rude came back to open the door for Reeve. He inclined his head just slightly, a silent and polite farewell given with his usual grim countenance. Reeve fluttered his hand vaguely over his shoulder, mumbling thanks, and hurried inside with Cait on his heels.

The building was a nondescript apartment building consisting of four floors. The first consisted of one apartment with two bedrooms, used by a rotating team of security. The elevators and stairs going up were gated behind an interlocking series of biometric locks, full body scans, and keypads that ensured only Reeve and a select few guests could go to the upper floors.

As he passed by, Reeve nodded tiredly at the guard behind the front desk, encased in bullet proof glass. She saluted smartly back. Her name was Mary, Reeve recalled, vaguely, as he went through the motions of letting himself and Cait through the various locks and into the elevator. A nice enough girl. She did her job and never asked prying questions. She liked to play cards with Cait. Reeve would have to make sure she got a bonus when her assignment at the building ended.

The elevator went smoothly up to the third floor. The second was completely bare, all the walls knocked down so that the only things on that floor were the support pillars, too thin for anyone to feasibly hide behind. The fourth was the same, though Reeve had lately taken to keeping potted plants near the floor to ceiling one-way windows, since he couldn't go up on the roof without it becoming a security liability.

The elevator opened up to a short, narrow hallway without windows. The only thing there was a double set of doors. The first had one more biometric lock, and the second a number of mundane key and deadbolt locks.

Then finally, he stepped into his apartment. It looked nothing like the home of a so-called king of the world. It had a living room, a small kitchen and pantry, a bedroom, another bedroom converted into a workshop, a decent-sized bath, and a walk-in closet. It was perfectly ordinary. He didn't invest in designer furniture and home decor, preferring to use comfortable, hand-me-down furniture.

The walls were covered in photos of the projects he'd worked on near the door, but as one went further into the apartment, those photos became shots of his friends, most of them with Cait acting in his place. Even if he had the free time to spend with them, he never did like having his picture taken outside of work obligations.

Finding Rufus Shinra perched on his ugly striped couch, arms spread over the back, legs crossed as if he owned the place, surrounded by pictures of AVALANCHE at their happiest was surreal.

"Oh," Reeve coughed. He dropped his briefcase on an overstuffed plaid armchair, keys clattering on the side table next to it. "You _are_ here. Uh. Did you..." He floundered, trying to think of what one did for unexpected guests. Offered them something. "Drink. Want a drink?"

"It's been taken care of." Rufus rose to his feet, adjusting his suit jacket and sweeping his hand down his slacks to smooth away wrinkles. "Come."

"Gonna go recharge, if ya don't mind," Cait chirruped, toddling off to the workshop.

Abandoned by his comfort object, Reeve froze in place, tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, and turned his head to watch Rufus cross the apartment. The younger man paused near the kitchen doorway, looking over his shoulder, expectant.

"Something the matter, Tuesti?"

"No, ah. Sorry."

Reeve lurched after Rufus, shedding his suit jacket to toss it onto the couch on the way over. He loosened his tie as he stepped through the kitchen doorway. And he froze again on spotting the take out containers from the Seventh Heaven on his kitchen table. The strong smell of barbeque hit Reeve's nose and went straight to his stomach, making it gurgle.

"You...?"

"My sources tell me you were off your game today."

Rufus rifled through the fridge for a couple of beers. He hooked the caps into the bottle opener affixed to the wall beside the fridge, casually popping them open with ease. The whole scene was at odds with Rufus's carefully maintained persona of aloof wealth.

"It wasn't that bad, surely..."

Rufus held one of the bottles out, the corner of his mouth quirking up. "I thought we agreed on no lies when there are no ties."

Reeve found himself checking Rufus's neck, exposed because the top three buttons of his shirt were undone. "...Right, sorry." He took the beer, took a long drink, and sank into one of the chairs at the table. "How much, ah, trouble was it to--?"

"What I want, I will have. It is not so difficult to persuade Lockhart to serve me. Never you mind the monetary cost." Rufus set his beer down on the edge of the table with a click. "I expect you to assuage my wounded pride later."

"Of course..."

Reeve ducked his head, smiling, though he wasn't sure he'd be up to the task. The pain still crawled across his skin, and he was just... so tired. Even as his stomach complained again, he looked at all the food and felt daunted by the sheer amount of effort it would take to eat.

"Hmm." Cool fingers settled under Reeve's chin, forcing him to look up. Rufus frowned, gaze sweeping over Reeve's face and then away, not pushing for eye contact. "Better eat before you fall asleep in it."

"Yeah... Listen, I'm sorry, I'm... not going to be very exciting company. I, I appreciate this, I do, but."

"Reeve."

"...Yes?"

Rufus swiped his thumb over Reeve's lips, shaking his head. "You do not need to stand at attention for me. I'm imposing. If you're unwell... I can't say I know the first thing about nurture, but damn it, I'd like to _try_. That's all."

"Oh. _Oh_. Is that... is that what this is?" Reeve blinked, sitting up, the fog parting just enough that he finally noticed that Rufus was tense, gaze darting everywhere and staying nowhere long. "You're _worried_ about me."

"Yes, yes, don't get carried away over it." Rufus huffed, backing off to sit across from Reeve. He shrugged out of his jacket, draped it on the back of the chair, then rolled his sleeves up. "That wasn't like you at all, letting that smarmy bastard run circles around you..."

"No. I'll have to deal with it later... Damn."

"Hmm. Too right you will. This city doesn't need to hike energy prices to fund his frivolous projects, it needs--"

Before Rufus could build a full head of steam and start in on a full rant, Reeve held his hands up. "Ah, if it's okay, I'd like to... not discuss business. Right now."

Rufus flicked his fingers, dismissive. "My apologies."

"Thank you."

With a noncommittal hum, Rufus reached out, taking Reeve's plate to serve him. He filled it with generous portions of brisket, barbecue ribs, corn fritters, fried okra, and corn bread. A veritable feast that Reeve was only able to pick at, delicious as it was. He barely managed half his beer, too, before fatigue crept up on him, covering everything in a haze of gray.

One moment, he chewed on a piece of meat, staring dreamily off out the window to watch a bird flitting by. The next, cool hands cradled his head, blue eyes searching his face. He was on the floor, the broken shards of his beer bottle scattered around him and alcohol soaking into his shirt.

"...Oh," Reeve sighed.

"Tell me you don't need a doctor, Tuesti." Rufus's voice was a low hiss through clenched teeth.

"I'm fine, just fine, don't... I just need to get cleaned up. And sleep. Sorry, I dozed."

Exhaling noisily, Rufus helped him up, heedless of the beer soaking into his own clothes. "You shouldn't stay up so late working..."

"Pot calling the kettle black."

"Hah."

Reeve tugged at his shirt, grimacing at the cold, wet, sticky feeling and the _smell_. He winced at the yellowed stain marring Rufus's white shirt. "Sorry about your clothes, ah, I might... have something that will fit you?"

"That's fine, I can send for something. Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

Rufus insited on keeping one hand against Reeve's shoulder, escorting him across the apartment to the bathroom. He hesitated in the doorway, clearly not wanting to leave Reeve unattended, but ultimately, he left in search of a change of clothes.

Reeve sank to sit by the tub as he turned the faucet on as hot as it would go. It took him a full minute and a half to remember to plug the drain.

"Are you going to be able to--?" Rufus asked, dropping boxers, socks, sleep pants, and a well-worn Gold Saucer t-shirt on the edge of the sink. "Do I need to get one of the Turks to attend your bath?"

"Please don't. I'll be fine."

"Fine. I'll be... just in the other room."

Wearily, Reeve lifted his hand, giving a thumbs up. Rufus huffed a quiet, exasperated laugh, then left, gently shutting the door behind him.

Undressing and bathing took more energy than Reeve had. He mostly just sank into the hot water and soaked, drowsing in between waves of pain. The warmth helped distract, a little, but it did nothing to ease his suffering.

When the water began to get uncomfortably cool, Reeve climbed awkwardly out to make a vague pass at drying off. He was still damp when he got dressed. Sighing, he wandered from the bathroom, slouched beneath the towel and tugging at his pants to keep the cloth from sticking to his skin.

"Feel any better?" Rufus asked, from his seat atop the chest at the end of Reeve's bed. He'd found a t-shirt that fit, some old sports tee with a cactuar on the logo. It didn't go with his nice slacks and shoes, but he seemed unruffled and indifferent.

"...Clean, anyway."

Reeve hesitated, then went to sit on the edge of his bed, watching Rufus. "Um, are you... staying?"

"Do you want me to leave?"

"I don't... know. I don't want to keep you, if it's, ah, inappropriate. Surely you have more important things than, than keeping me company. In my room. We're not-- we're just friends, right, not... Uh."

"Reeve."

Reeve's teeth clicked when he shut his mouth.

Standing, Rufus rounded the bed to stand in front of Reeve with his head tilted. Cautiously, he reached out, catching the edges of the towel. When Reeve did nothing to stop him, Rufus rubbed the towel through wet hair, slow at first, then more vigorously. Reeve sighed, leaning into it, eyes closed.

"I rather think I've failed to make my intentions clear enough, Tuesti."

"Your... intentions?"

"Hm. I've taken you out to dinner every week."

"Oh? As friends, I thought. With our friends..."

"We've always eaten alone, Reeve."

"...Oh." Reeve opened his mouth, couldn't think of what to say, and sat slowly back to stare up at Rufus's face. He took in the pinched brow, the downward curve of mouth. Couldn't meet the eyes, but they weren't looking at him anyway. " _Oh_. You were... me? Why me?"

"I..."

The question made Rufus drop his hands away, made him retreat across the room. Reeve sighed, watching the younger man pace and struggle with it. Distantly, he'd always been aware of Rufus, first as a rebellious teen sulking at the back of boring board meetings, ever in the shadow of his father, then later as the shrewd heir that picked up the broken pieces left to him and failed to make a go of it because there was nowhere to go but _down_. And now, as a man trying to prove he could make things right.

At no point had Rufus ever been allowed to be a simple human who did things like ate barbeque or looked after a sick friend or... go on dates.

"I'm sorry," Reeve said. "You don't have to explain anything."

Rufus stopped short, turning towards him. "I should be able to tell you why."

"No, it's... I should've noticed. I've enjoyed our dates." Reeve cleared his throat. "I'd like to continue."

Only very rarely did Rufus smile without reservation. Reeve's heart did a couple backflips at having that slow, shy smile directed at him.

"You'd better be up for it on Friday, then."

"I'll try."

"Hm." Rufus brushed his hair out of his eyes, backing towards the door. "I think I should leave you to rest."

As tempting as it was to ask Rufus to stay, Reeve only nodded mutely. He watched Rufus go, and listened for the click of the door shutting, and then sank back into bed, hands over his face. All of a sudden he felt flushed and embarrassed and giddy.

They'd been dating for almost three years.


End file.
